PSA: Mazda3 OEM battery is serviceable

[JEDI]

from this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...id=85&threadid=2278331

i went to walmart and bought their top battery for $73. (~650 cca, 3yr warrenty)

when i saw my old battery i noticed that i can add water to it. ARRGGG.

the auto service mgr said the water level is too low, and some cells have probably died. (water lvl only fills up 3/4 of the battery)

oh well, live and learn

 

[LOUISSSSS]

can we get a pic of ur battery and tell us where u pour the water in please

 

[StageLeft]

That's surprising, I thought most batteries these days were sealed.

 

[sisq0kidd]

Mine was like that too. There's a hole you look into that displays a certain color. One color means you add water, one color means it's dead, etc. Mine said to add water, but I just bought a new battery anyway.

 

[VinylxScratches]

I can add water to my car battery. I can't believe how long its lasted so far. As of today it's 7 years old.

 

[LTC8K6]

I have installed a few new batteries in the last six months, different brands, and all of them allowed you to add water (distilled).

A "maintenance free" battery may actually have removeable caps as well. They can usually be carefully pried off.

They may intend for you not to need to maintain it, but if the caps come off, you can check and add water if necessary.

 

[alpineranger]

I haven't seen a maintenance free battery where you can't easily remove the cap and add water. They may exist, but they seem to be really rare.